


Unraveling Perfection

by flowergirlbarnes



Series: Unraveling Perfection [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Abusive Parents, Brother-Sister Relationships, F/M, Family Issues, Hogwarts, Marauders, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Slow Burn, The Marauder's Map, The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, Werewolves, Wizarding Wars (Harry Potter)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:59:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28018869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flowergirlbarnes/pseuds/flowergirlbarnes
Summary: In the eyes of the Black family, the perfect child is three things. The perfect child is sorted into Slytherin just like their ancestors before. The perfect child believes that pure-blood's are the only acceptable kind of wizard and all others have no right to magic. Finally, the perfect child is always pure whether it be in blood or in thought.Sirius, Celeste and Regulus grew up in the same family, with the same parents who preached the same things over and over. Yet all three siblings turned out very different. Sirius became the outcast and disappointment, Regulus became everything he ought to be and Celeste became the middle ground.Somewhere on Celeste's road to perfection, things started going wrong...or perfectly right.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Remus Lupin/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Unraveling Perfection [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2061174
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	1. Year One - New Beginnings

Every year on the first of September, Kings Cross station is packed, and no Muggle quite knew why. There was no additional train departing the station nor were the trains any more packed than they usually were. It was as if hundreds and hundreds of people came to be there on that specific day, only to clear out thirty minutes later.

The first of September 1972 was no different. At approximately 10:30 in the morning, the station filled up. Trolleys full of trunks and pets were being pushed through the crowd, all by young children. Some wore uniforms and some didn’t. It was as if the kids all went to the same boarding school though no one knew which one it was.

A family shoved its way through the crowd led by a tall and stern looking woman. She looked as if she were muttering constantly under her breath but no one around her could pick up her exact words. All except her oldest child who muttered something back earning a tsk and a small shove.

Behind the woman and eldest boy, a younger girl and boy followed. To any Muggle, they looked like a typical family. A little cold on the outside, but nothing special. To any witch or wizard, the family was recognized immediately, and a path was made for them. No one was to get in their way, not when Walburga Black wore a scowl like that on her face.

Sirius Black, the eldest of the three Black siblings, marched proudly to the empty space between platforms nine and ten. He didn’t even wait for his mother or siblings before he boldly ran into the brick wall that separated the two platforms. He bounced on his toes once he made it over and then turned back waiting for the rest of his family.

Celeste went next. She followed her brother’s movements right down to the bounce in his step. She was followed quickly by the youngest Black, Regulus, and finally their mother.

Platform nine and three-quarters was alive and packed by the time the Black family had arrived. They had each been there a year before for Sirius’ first year at Hogwarts, so it wasn’t new to any of them. Celeste still found herself carefully taking in her surroundings, this time with more excitement. It was her turn to experience Hogwarts for the first time; her and Regulus’.

Walburga barked instructions towards Sirius. Most of them consisted of her reminding him that he was still a Black and if he continued to disgraced the family name, there would be dire consequences. Sirius was wearing an expression he only wore for Walburga. It closely translated to, ‘ _I don’t care what you say or what you think but here’s me pretending.’_ Celeste knew it well. She’d even tried to match it once, though it did end up getting her into more trouble than she was already in.

After Walburga had finished degrading her oldest, she turned to her younger two. “Remember, _toujours pur._ You will be sorted into Slytherin just as every other Black has do you understand?” Neither Regulus nor Celeste answered. They simply nodded just as they had done every other time Walburga said that.

Walburga wasn’t convinced so she continued on. “You have the Black family name and reputation to think of. I cannot have another child going rogue, do you understand? You have a duty to the family, and I expect you both to fulfill your roles.”

Celeste didn’t dare look up at her brother who was probably mocking their mother behind her back. If she did, she would burst out laughing and get in trouble. She followed Regulus’ lead and continued nodding. This was also something she heard a lot of. She knew her parents were worried Regulus or Celeste would follow Sirius’ lead and start rebelling.

The truth was, neither of them truly could. They lacked the courage their Gryffindor brother had. Instead, they conformed to what their family wanted them and needed them to be. Walburga wasn’t taking risks though. The minute she found out Sirius was in Gryffindor, she tried to tighten the reins on her other two.

Now they were finally being given some liberty and Walburga was worried it would be enough to send them of the rails. Celeste wasn’t sure she could go off the rails, she thought too much of what others thought of her. Especially her family, no matter how messed up they really were.

Finally, once Walburga was convinced she’d gotten her message through to her kids, she let them go praying they would turn out better than her eldest. Celeste and Regulus followed closely behind their brother onto the Hogwarts Express. Once they boarded the train, Regulus looked back and waved goodbye to Walburga one last time. Sirius on the other hand didn’t spare her a second glance.

Celeste watched Sirius push through the crowd with a destination in mind. She looked back to make sure Regulus was following. Around them, friends were greeting friends, discussing their summer holidays and older students who wore badges were guiding wide eyed kids who looked about Celeste’s age. The train had a magical energy to it, and it wasn’t even because of the magic.

Celeste kept turning her head back and forth between brothers making sure Regulus was following wherever Sirius was leading them. She could tell by the grin that grew on his face that he was leading them to his friends, the Marauders as they called themselves.

When Sirius returned both at Christmas and for the summer, he had lots of stories he shared with Celeste about the group of boys he met at school. She’d heard their names multiple times as he retold their late-night adventures and brilliant mischief making. Celeste was excited to meet them, she thought they sounded like fun.

A few compartments in front of them, a boy with dark messy hair and glasses stuck his head out. “Sirius!” he waved ushering the siblings over. Sirius’ grin widened even more as he quickened his pace to reach his friend faster. Celeste nearly stumbled over a trunk trying to keep up. She heard Regulus tsk behind her as she tried to regain her balance ignoring the feeling that Walburga was following them to Hogwarts.

Sirius stopped in front of the compartment with three boys in it and swung the door open with force. “Perfect, you’re all here!” Sirius said waltzing in and greeting his friends. Celeste and Regulus stood near the door not sure what to do. Once Sirius had greeted each boy properly, he turned his attention back to his siblings. “This is Celeste and Regulus, my little siblings!”

Celeste looked at each boy. They all wore expressions of equal curiosity and mischief. Celeste recognized the look her brother wore often.

The boy with glasses that had called them over stood up first extending his hand towards the younger Blacks. “I’m James Potter.” Celeste heard Regulus make a sound of disapproval from beside her. He didn’t take the hand, instead he put on a glare she was sure he had picked up from their mother. Celeste on the other hand didn’t want to be rude so she carefully placed her hand in his and shook it. James looked pleased that at least one sibling had acknowledged him.

Behind James, Sirius was glaring a Regulus. Before he could say something to his brother, another boy spoke up. “Remus Lupin,” he said simply waving a hand. Celeste smiled and mimicked his small wave back. He offered her a small smile glancing quickly between the brothers who were staring each other down.

No one said anything as the tension built until finally James spoke up. “I didn’t know your younger siblings were twins!” He had a goofy smile on his face that eased a bit of the tension. Celeste felt the need to smile back as if his smile was contagious.

“They’re not. Celeste was born in 1960 and Regulus was born in 1961,” Sirius answered for them finally turning his attention away from Regulus.

The fourth boy finally spoke. Celeste assumed it was Peter since that was the other boy Sirius had mentioned in his stories. “She’s our age? Why isn’t she in our year?”

Celeste offered a small smile while Sirius rolled his eyes. “She’s still eleven for a few more weeks Pete.” Celeste felt weird as the boys talked about her while she was standing there. She wasn’t sure what to say though, she was quite used to her brothers doing the talking for her.

“Wow, your parents were busy, three kids in three years!” James said with his contagious smile and a small laugh.

“Our mother kept popping them out till she finally liked one,” Sirius said with a smirk. Celeste laughed lightly at her brothers comment and Regulus just rolled his eyes. As crude as the comment was, there was a little bit of truth in his words and they all knew it.

Around them, the Marauders laughed at the comment though they each looked carefully between the siblings. Celeste was sure Sirius made comments like that all the time, but they obviously weren’t used to Celeste and Regulus being in their presence while he did so.

Before anyone else could get another word in, the train started moving throwing Celeste off balance again. She reached out to Regulus to sturdy herself as the four boys all took a seat. He looked at her a whispered, “let’s go find an empty compartment.”

She looked up at the Marauders who were watching the two of them carefully. James still wore a small smile on his face, he looked friendly. Celeste knew he was Sirius’ best mate, and they were the more reckless of them. Beside him, Peter was looking at her with wide beady eyes as if he were in awe of her presence. Across from them, Remus watched with curiosity in his eyes. They were soft and reminded Celeste of honey.

Sirius was the only one looking at her with daring eyes. “You’re not going to sit with us Celeste?” he asked. It was a weighted question, and she knew Sirius was testing her. She was used to him doing this, making her chose between him and Regulus. She wasn’t used to an audience, however.

Five pairs of eyes watched her, and she felt her breath quicken while she tried to make a decision. If she sat with Sirius, she could make friends with the Marauders who she was secretly dying to meet all summer. She might however feel like the odd one out given how close she thought the boys were and that would leave Regulus all alone.

Sirius raised his eyebrows prompting her to pick. “It might be too crowded if I join,” Celeste said in her small voice. Annoyance flashed across Sirius’ face and she wished she could quickly explain that he had friends to sit with while Regulus did not. Instead, Regulus stepped out of the compartment gesturing for Celeste to do the same.

Regulus searched for an empty compartment while Celeste followed. A part of her knew there was no use, and the compartments were sure to all be filled by now. Regulus seemed stubborn and determined to find a spot to sit that wasn’t with Sirius and his friends.

“Reg, maybe we should go back and sit with Sirius,” Celeste suggested as he checked another compartment only to find it filled with three girls.

Regulus tsked again. “I’ll find us somewhere. C’mon this one’s half empty.” He pulled open the door and poked his head in. “Mind if we join you?” he asked with his perfect manners. Celeste didn’t hear the response, but Regulus walked in, so she followed.

Inside, Celeste and Regulus sat across from a boy and girl who looked around their age. The boy had long hair and a sharp pointed nose. Beside him sat a girl with flaming red hair and soft green eyes. She wore a polite smile on her face as she watched them take their seats.

“I’m Lily and this is Severus,” she said once Regulus and Celeste were sitting. She didn’t offer a hand like James did, only a friendly smile.

Regulus answered for her, “I’m Regulus and this is my sister Celeste.”

“First years?” Severus asked with a hard tone to his voice. Celeste nodded unable to form words in the presence of strangers. He continued to stare them down before speaking again. “Which house do you think you’ll be in?” Celeste could tell by the force behind the question that their answer mattered.

Regulus took charge again smiling. “We’re going to be in Slytherin, just like the rest of our family.” Severus smirked clearly approving of the answer.

Beside him, Lily was eyeing Celeste as if she didn’t believe that she was really a Slytherin. “Your entire family has only been in one house?” she asked.

Regulus nodded, but Celeste shot him a look at the lie. She spoke up then correcting him. “Everyone except our brother Sirius.” At the mention of Sirius, Severus and Lily frowned. Celeste was surprised, Sirius made it sound like he was liked by everyone at school, yet their reaction suggested otherwise.

Regulus noticed too stepping in. “Don’t worry, we’re nothing like our brother.” This seemed to please Severus who smirked again and engaged with Regulus about the Slytherin house. Lily kept watching Celeste with a curious expression. When she caught Celeste’s eye, she smiled her friendly smile again and Celeste tried to send one back.

They broke eye contact when Lily turned to Severus to correct him on something he said. Celeste took this moment to focus her attention out the window and away from the other three. She felt shy in their presence and didn’t really want to engage in any conversation. She let her mind wander instead.

‘ _We’re going to be in Slytherin.’_

_‘We’re nothing like our brother.’_

Celeste knew that Regulus was speaking as Walburga would. They _were_ going to be in Slytherin, and they _weren’t_ going to turn out like Sirius. She was used to her brothers speaking for her, however these words left her unsettled. She’d heard them coming from her mother time and time again, but coming from Regulus, it was as if he was the one making the decision for them, for her.

Sirius always commented about how blindly Regulus listened to their mother and Celeste had seen it time and time again, but a part of her hoped that out from under her influence, maybe Regulus would act differently just as Sirius had.

She knew that if any of them were to be exactly the child Walburga wanted them all to be, it was Regulus. Sirius was too defiant and would do anything to go against everything the Black family stood for. Celeste wasn’t defiant but she didn’t agree with her mother and family. She just never expressed it like Sirius did.

It was the main reason why Celeste could get along fine with both of her brothers. Sirius knew that she had the same ideas when it came to blood purity and all the other ridiculous Black family beliefs as he did, and Regulus knew she wouldn’t openly defy her family like Sirius did. They saw her like the middle ground between them, though they both liked to think she was each more like them than the other brother.

It was for this reason that Celeste wasn’t exactly sure if what Regulus said was true. She wasn’t convinced that she was going to be a Slytherin. She knew it would ultimately be the best place for her though she wasn’t sure she actually belonged there.

If Celeste was a Slytherin, she’d be on her family’s good side which was the best place to be. On top of that, she really didn’t want to be a disappointment to the family like Sirius was deemed when he was sorted into a house other than Slytherin. She’d also be with her brother which ensured that she wouldn’t be alone, something she was afraid of. Unfortunately she knew if she was put in Slytherin, Sirius would be pissed.

In this scenario, the pros of being a Slytherin outweighed the cons. She knew that she could easily explain to Sirius that being on Walburga’s good side was beneficial for the both of them. ‘ _It’s easier to play devil’s advocate for you against mum if I’m on her good side,’_ she’d have to tell him when he confronted her.

In the end, it didn’t matter what she thought or who she was, she needed to push it all aside and become the person her family needed her to be. The person they all needed her to be. The Slytherin, the obedient daughter, the loyal sister and middle ground between her two brothers.

The rest of the train ride to Hogwarts, Celeste continued to drown in her thoughts. The other three in the compartment seemed to understand that she wanted to be left alone and didn’t disturb her.

Eventually Lily had pulled out a book leaving Regulus and Severus to chat. Celeste didn’t recognize it, but the cover looked appealing. She assumed it was a Muggle book and didn’t bother asking about it. She already knew Regulus’ reaction if she were to.

It was dark when they finally reached the castle in Scotland. Celeste could make out a faint outline of the castle and it made her stomach jump. She was excited to be at Hogwarts after hearing so many stories from Sirius, but she was more excited for the independence that came with leaving their parents behind in London.

Celeste followed Regulus off the Hogwarts Express and then over to the edge of the lake where they were being summoned. A giant man introduced himself as Hagrid and explained that they were to get on the boats that were to take them across the lake to the waiting castle.

Regulus picked a boat that had two boys already in it. Celeste wondered if they recognized them by the looks on their faces. She knew the Black family wasn’t a family that slipped under the radar in the Wizarding World and more people recognized them than not. Celeste simply tried to ignore them as the boat brought them closer and closer to where the older students were awaiting them.

They entered the castle and were quickly directed to an empty area leading to two double doors. Celeste assumed the Great Hall laid behind the doors given the hint of noise that trickled between the cracks. In front stood a witch that reminded Celeste briefly of Walburga. When the witch spoke, she was assured it wasn’t her. Though the voice was stern, it was still softer than her mother’s.

The Sorting ceremony was explained to the group of nervous first years. It was simple really; their name would be called, and the Sorting Hat would determine their fate at Hogwarts. For Celeste, it would also determine where she stood with her family. It was either with Sirius as a disappointment or with Regulus as the perfect little child but a total fraud.

As they entered the hall, Celeste found herself searching for the table that held the students wearing red ties. Once she located the Gryffindor table, she searched for her brother’s eyes. They watched her with the same daring look he had on from earlier. Celeste wondered if Sirius saw the Sorting as another one of his loyalty checks. If he did, he wasn’t going to be pleased with the outcome.

The students in the hall quieted down as the first student was called up. The hat took less than a minute before calling out a house loudly for the entire hall to hear. Another student was called forward and Celeste knew she was coming up. She mentally prepared herself to convince the hat she was in Slytherin. She wasn’t sure how she was going to do it; she just knew that she had to.

A voice pulled her from her thoughts. “Black, Celestial!” Celeste cringed slightly at her full name and stepped forward. She made her way carefully to the stool and sat down. The hat was placed on her head over her eyes blocking her view. The last thing she saw was Sirius’ daring eyes.

 _“Another Black, the obvious choice would be to place you with the rest of your family.”_ Celeste silently agreed wondering if the Sorting Hat caught it. _“It seems however that you may not belong with the rest of your family.”_ Celeste felt a rush of dread while the hat continued. _“I’m aware of the practical choice but I believe you would be better off elsewhere.”_

 _“Please, please, please,”_ Celeste begged mentally hoping the hat would do as she wished. She was sure. _“I can prove myself as a Slytherin, I promise I will.”_

The hat paused a moment taking in her words. She realized then that begging might not be the Slytherin thing to do. _“You will prove yourself Miss Black don’t worry; you’ll prove yourself in…”_

“RAVENCLAW!”

Celeste was frozen. She was sure she heard wrong, but when the hat was lifted from her head, she was greeted with the face of a very angry Regulus Black. The sound of cheering came from the right, from the Ravenclaw table. She turned to the left instead looking for Sirius’ reaction. He had his head bowed and was exchanging words with James.

A hand was suddenly in front of her guiding her down from the stool and towards the direction of the Ravenclaw table. Celeste felt her body moving though her brain hadn’t quite caught up. Her body sat down at the table filled with blue ties as her eyes followed her brother who was making his way to the Sorting Hat.

It took the Sorting Hat all of three seconds to place Regulus in Slytherin. He stepped down and made his was to the Slytherin table that Celeste was sitting with her back towards. He didn’t meet her eyes as he went to sit with his House and Celeste immediately averted her eyes.

She never really thought about what would happen if she wasn’t sorted into Slytherin. She always assumed that if it came down to it, the Sorting Hat would listen to her wishes. Deep down she knew why she wasn’t in Slytherin though, deep down she knew she didn’t belong there. The hat must’ve picked up on her doubt from before and acted on it.

She knew what came next, she’d seen Walburga’s reaction a year ago when Sirius was placed in Gryffindor. She knew that Sirius probably loved this, he wasn’t the only disappointment anymore. She wasn’t sure what Regulus thought though. He was always convinced that they would both be Slytherin. She’d fooled everyone, everyone except the Sorting Hat.

Celeste watched the rest of the Sorting ceremony with half a heart. She tried listening to what Dumbledore was announcing before the feast, but she couldn’t get herself to focus on anything other than her misery and the panic that came with it. Celeste was so focused on regulating her breathing, the didn’t even realize her brother had been watching her.

When she finally looked up and caught Sirius’ eye from across the way, he greeted her with a grin and stuck two thumbs up in her direction. Celeste was sure he meant for the gesture to cheer her up, instead she felt tears well up in her eyes. Sirius had always been the carefree brother with a tough shell and even then, he still was affected by Walburga from time to time. Celeste knew she was nowhere as strong as Sirius; she wasn’t going to be able to handle her mother’s wrath.

She kept her gaze down the rest of dinner and all the way through Dumbledore’s second speech. The only time she lifted it was to follow her house Prefect towards the Ravenclaw tower. She tried memorizing the path they took from the Great Hall towards the tower, but she found herself lost in her thoughts more times than not.

When they reached the Ravenclaw tower, Celeste followed the Prefect’s instructions towards the dorm she would be sharing with the other Ravenclaw girls in her year. She didn’t bother introducing herself once they entered the room, she simply found the bed her trunk was in front of and crawled in closing her curtains tightly behind her.

Once she was sure she was out of sight, Celeste let out everything she’d been holding in since the Sorting Hat announced she was in Ravenclaw. She tried to keep her sobs as quiet as possible trying not to embarrass herself more than necessary.

Around her, the other girls were introducing themselves and getting themselves acquainted. Celeste tried using the voices of the other girls to calm herself down. Eventually between the giggles and whispers, Celeste found herself being lulled into a deep sleep.

…..

The next morning, Celeste woke up with a slight headache she knew was caused by the crying from the night before. She looked down and realized she’d fallen asleep in her robes, so she pulled back the curtains and dove into her trunk looking for one of her other sets for class that morning.

There was only one other girl awake and she actively avoided Celeste’s eye. Celeste quickly dressed in her fresh robes, ran a quick brush through her hair and splashed her face with water trying to liven her appearance before heading down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

Thankfully, there was a group of older students also making their way down, so Celeste followed them to breakfast. When she reached the Great Hall, Celeste took a seat at her house table again, completely alone.

From across the hall, Celeste glanced at the Gryffindor table wondering if her brother had arrived yet. She should have known better that Sirius Black was no morning person. The only person she recognized was Remus who had a book propped open as he stirred some honey into his tea. Before he could catch her looking, Celeste focused her attention to the food in front of her and started serving herself.

As the morning went on, more and more students filled the hall and teachers roamed around handing out timetables. Celeste accepted hers from a small professor who introduced himself as the head of Ravenclaw House, Professor Flitwick. On her timetable, Celeste identified his name under the slot that held their Charms lessons.

Celeste found herself looking up every minute or so hoping to see one of her brothers walking into the Great Hall. Celeste felt like she needed the familiarity of her family while she tried to adjust to her new life separated from the both of them.

Regulus was the first one to enter the hall and when he did so, he simple caught Celeste’s eye, gave her a simple nod in acknowledgement then turned away. Celeste appreciated the fact he was now acknowledging her, which was a step up from last night, but it still made her feel cold and distant from her brother.

Sirius entered five minutes later with James. They made their way noisily over to where Remus had already stationed himself. She watched with awe as her brother interacted with his friends. She’d heard so many stories about them all, it was fun to witness the dynamic in person.

The boys were all leaning forward with their heads close together. She wondered if they were in the midst of planning one of their great Marauders pranks Sirius had boasted about during the summer. She watched as they gestured with their hands wildly and snickered when they were finally onto something.

While she was distracted watching Sirius and his friends, Celeste barely registered that owls had entered the Great Hall carrying letters to the awaiting students. Celeste watched as the majority of the letters were landing in front of younger students, she assumed were first years writing to their parents about their first night at Hogwarts.

Celeste had no desire to write to her parents after last night’s disaster and hoped she could keep her house identity a secret as long as possible. Unfortunately for her, Regulus did write home to Walburga and Orion resulting in a big red envelope that dropped right in front of Celeste.

She recognized it immediately. She’d seen her mother send the same one to Sirius last year after she found out he’d been sorted into Gryffindor. Celeste scooped up the Howler hoping she could get somewhere private before the thing exploded with whatever nasty message, she was sure Walburga sent.

Celeste nearly tripped on her way out of the Great Hall, she was in such a hurry. In her hands, she could feel the Howler start to shake indicating it was ready to burst open. She tried moving faster knowing that she was in a position where everyone would be able to hear its contents.

Just before she reached the exit to the hall, the envelope opened itself and Walburga Black’s nasty voice filled the Great Hall.

“CELESTIAL IRMA BLACK! RAVENCLAW!?” It shouted and Celeste broke into a run trying to get away from everyone immediately. “I AM SO DISAPPOINTED IN YOU. FIRST SIRIUS AND NOW YOU? TWO DISAPPOINTMENTS IN THE FAMILY! THANK GOODNESS REGULUS DID WHAT HE WAS SUPPOSED TO, I WOULD DIE IF I DIDN’T HAVE AT LEAST ONE CHILD MAKING ME PROUD.” Celeste hoped it was over, but the letter kept going. “YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO THE BLACK FAMILY! IF YOU TURN OUT ANYTHING LIKE SIRIUS, I WON’T HESITATE-”

The Howler was meant to keep going but, in that moment, Sirius pointed his wand at the letter, and it burst into flames in Celeste’s hands. Celeste looked up to see her brother standing a few feet away from her with his wand carefully pointed towards their mother’s voice. She let go and it fell from her hands and landed in an ashy pile on the ground.

Celeste closed her eyes quickly trying to still her shaking hands and keep her tears inside. Sirius approached quickly and put his hands on her shoulders. “It’s okay Celeste, I’ve got you,” he whispered pulling her into a hug.

The minute Sirius wrapped his arms around her, Celeste let the tears out and she started quietly sobbing. While keeping an arm secured around her, Sirius lead her away from the prying eyes of curious students towards an empty hall. Eventually, Celeste found herself calming down in the familiar embrace of her brother and she pulled away. Sirius smiled weakly at her though she knew he felt nothing but pity for her.

As Celeste was wiping the tears from her cheeks, Regulus joined them in the empty hallway. He approached carefully as if he was unsure whether or not he should be there. “Are you okay Celeste?” he asked timidly as he continued his approach.

His answer was a hard glare from Sirius. “What do you think? Our dear mother just yelled at her in front of everyone!” Celeste buried her face in her hands at the thought of everyone knowing exactly how her mother felt about her. Sirius must’ve picked up on her distress because he turned to her and said, “if it makes you feel better, the same thing happened to me. Only I didn’t have the brains to leave the Great Hall, I just sat there dumbfounded.”

Celeste looked up at Sirius who shuttered at the memory of his own Howler from Walburga. It made her smile for a second before she frowned again. “I didn’t even write her; I don’t know how she found out.” Celeste paused a moment before realizing how she knew. She turned to Regulus who was staring down at the floor. “You told her?” Celeste asked in a quiet voice.

“Of course, he did,” Sirius started. “Mother asked him to, so he did it, isn’t that right Reggie?” Regulus looked up sharply at the nickname Sirius called him. He hated being called Reggie and Sirius knew that. “Didn’t you think about Celeste before ratting her out? You knew how mother would react!”

Celeste could see the direction the conversation was going in and she didn’t feel like getting in between Sirius and Regulus in a full-blown fight. “Stop,” she said trying to sound authoritative. “It doesn’t matter now, she knows, and she hates me for it. Let’s just go to class.”

“I’m sorry Cely,” Regulus said using the nickname he called her as kids. It made it hard to not forgive him when he was purposely shrinking himself down. He only ever did it when he felt bad and it’s how she knew he was genuine.

Celeste smile softly at him. She knew Walburga would figure it out eventually. She also knew that Walburga had defiantly told Regulus to report back to her about things that happened to them both. If he didn’t, he would also be swept into the line of fire and Celeste wanted to avoid that. Even if it meant forgiving him for doing exactly what their mother wanted whenever she wanted. “It’s fine Reg, I understand why you did it.”

Regulus shot her a small smile then a glare towards Sirius before leaving them be. Sirius let Celeste have a couple more seconds to compose herself before he was leading her back towards the Great Hall.

“Look sis, if I have any advice to give, it’s this. The world doesn’t stop turning when you stop doing everything mother wants you to. It’s okay to rebel a little.” Sirius said breaking the silence.

“And where has that gotten you?” she retorted sounding a little more annoyed than she meant to.

Sirius stepped in her path forcing her to stop and look in his eyes. “I’m a lot happier than I would’ve been as a Slytherin. I’ve got my friends and that’s worth every horrible thing mother has ever said to me.”

Celeste watched as Sirius’ eyes danced across her face analyzing her. She never thought of the good that would come with her being in Ravenclaw. “Do you think I’ll make friends like yours?” she asked quietly.

Sirius smiled brightly. “Of course! I’d probably start with introducing yourself to some of your housemates and see where that goes!” Sirius paused to watch her face then added, “you’re going to be okay Celeste. You’ve still got me and even Reg okay?”

Celeste nodded and Sirius seemed satisfied with that as an answer. From the entry of the hall, his friends called him over and Celeste watched as Sirius excused himself and joined his pack of mischief as they headed to their first class. She then turned to make her way to her own class. She stopped in her tracts when she felt the air brush across her damp cheeks.

Celeste stopped in the girl’s bathroom first. She wanted to make sure she looked presentable, couldn’t have a Black running around with red eyes, tear stained cheeks, and robes out of place.

When Celeste looked in the mirror, she felt off. The girl staring back at her had the same grey eyes, she had the same curly black hair that fell just above her mid back, her cheek bones were still sharp, and her skin was its same fair self. She looked like a Black but the tie around her neck told her otherwise.

She grabbed the blue tie and adjusted it then smoothed down her robes. Celeste ran a hand through her curls placing them in the right place and pinched her cheeks giving them a bit of color to take away from her pink rimmed eyes.

When she was content with her look, she exited the bathroom and tried to navigate her way to her first class. She had Transfiguration first. When she got there, after getting lost twice, she realized she had the class with the Slytherins. She watched as Regulus surrounded himself with Slytherins leaving no room for her.

With no other option, she made her way to the front of the class and took a seat next to a girl that wore a Ravenclaw tie. She had warm tan skin and wild chestnut brown curls. Celeste noticed how much paler she looked in the girl’s presence. She recognized her as one of the girls who she shared a dorm room with.

Sirius’ words replayed in her head. The first step to making friends like his was introducing yourself. Celeste took a deep breath and turned to face the girl. “Hi I’m-”

“Celestial Irma Black, I heard.” Celeste paused mid-sentence shocked. She couldn’t tell by the tone of the girl’s voice if she said it to be nice or to be rude. She looked at Celeste and continued, “your mother has got quite the voice!” Celeste tried to muster up a smile, but it was hard. The girl eyed her down and then finally stuck out her hand, “I’m Valeria.”

Celeste shook her hand and they both turned their attention to the professor who just entered the room. She wasn’t sure yet if the girl liked her but at least she now knew someone in her house. It all starts with an introduction.

Professor McGonagall was the witch from last night that reminded her of her mother. Celeste decided she should probably get on her good side if she turned out anything like Walburga. Her way of doing this was answering as many questions as she knew. Each time, McGonagall threw Celeste a wary look and she often wondered if she was mentally comparing her to Sirius.

When Transfiguration ended, Celeste quickly packed up her bag wanting to find her next class soon. She was still quite new to the whole set up of the school and she was almost late this morning. Celeste was about to leave the class when she heard her name being called.

“Hey Celestial, wait up!” Celeste turned back and smiled politely at Valeria.

“It’s actually just Celeste,” she corrected trying to say all the right things.

Valeria smiled and nodded, “you can call me Val then, my friends do.”

“Are we friends?” Celeste asked quickly and then mentally slapped herself for sounding so desperate and surprised.

“Of course!” All Celeste could do was smile. Making friends was a lot easier than she had expected.

The two Ravenclaw girls started making their way to Charms class. Along the way, Val was chatting up a storm and Celeste liked the fact she had so much to say.

“I didn’t know what to expect but when the hat said Ravenclaw I wasn’t that surprised. I have an older sister who was Gryffindor, but I was never one to go around being all courageous and brave. I more kept to myself. People always said I have a creative mind which makes sense why the hat put me in Ravenclaw.” Celeste tried to remember as much about Val as she could so she could prove she was a good friend.

Everyone once in a while, Val would look over at Celeste expecting an answer or comment on what she just said. Most of the time, Celeste would give little responses that sent her on another small tangent.

“So, do you have family here?” Val asked after explaining her parents’ jobs. She hated that she noticed, but Celeste assumed she was a pure-blood. She didn’t ask though; she always found the question kind of rude. She also knew that would be the first question out of her mother’s mouth if she ever ended up telling her about her new friend. She decided it could wait for now, Celeste really didn’t care all that much.

Celeste realized Val was still waiting for an answer. “I have an older brother in Gryffindor and a younger brother in Slytherin,” Celeste answered.

“How can you have a younger brother? We’re the youngest ones here!” Celeste smiled. It was always the first question out of people’s mouths when Walburga explained that her two youngest were going to be in the same year even though they weren’t twins.

Celeste shrugged, “I was born in September 1960, my brother was born August 1961.”

“Wow, your parents got straight to it huh?” Celeste laughed a little then remembered Sirius’ words. ‘ _Our mother kept popping them out till she finally liked one.’_ It was always his answer to people, but Celeste wasn’t sure it was appropriate in this circumstance. It opened a can of worms Celeste wasn’t ready to reveal to Val just yet.

Val continued talking about her sister, how she was a 5th year Prefect and how Val was planning on also becoming Prefect when they were old enough. Celeste admired her for planning so far ahead. She could barely see herself surviving the end of summer.

Celeste stuck next to Val for the rest of the day and Val even introduced her to the other girls in her dorm. None of them were as friendly as Val was, but Celeste wasn’t too bothered. She was happy having made just the one friend on her first day.

At dinner that night, Sirius smiled brightly at her from his spot at the Gryffindor table. She gestured to Val and mouthed friend. He simply laughed and shot her another set of thumbs up. This time instead of crying, Celeste just smiled.


	2. Year One - Expectations

It took a little over a week for Celeste to finally fall into a proper schedule at Hogwarts. They had gone through a full week of school and Celeste had a small taste of what each class was like. There were some classes she was already better at than others. Unfortunately for her, it was painfully obvious which classes she was not good at.

All around her Celeste was surrounded by what seemed like the smartest witches and wizards from their year. Even Valeria, who wasn’t as naturally gifted at magic like Celeste was, still excelled in all the subjects one way or another.

Classes like Transfiguration, Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts were easier than other classes like Herbology, Potions and History of Magic. Astronomy was Celeste’s favorite class by far. This was mostly because she already knew most of the stars and constellations they were looking at. To her peers, they were new words but to Celeste, they were the names of cousins, aunts and uncles.

In the week that followed her first day, Celeste had failed to make any more friends. Instead, she usually stuck by Val. From time-to-time Sirius would come and make small talk with his sister and her new friend, but more times than not, he was occupied with his own friends.

Regulus on the other hand took almost two weeks after the Sorting ceremony to finally let things go back to normal between the two siblings. Normal, however, wasn’t the normal it had been at Grimmauld Place. This normal was friendly conversation between the pair, sharing a workspace in Potions and occasionally sitting near one another in a class they shared.

Celeste found herself bothered deep down by her brother’s new behavior. She knew it wouldn’t be the case if the Sorting Hat had listened to her in the first place and put her in Slytherin. She took what she could get though, she still needed the familiarity of family around her and Sirius was a busier wizard than Regulus.

Thankfully after having a routine at Hogwarts, Celeste found herself warming up to the idea of spending her next seven years like this.

Apart from her initial distress, being a Ravenclaw ended up not being as bad as Celeste thought it would be. After getting a proper look at it, Celeste concluded that the Ravenclaw common room was the nicest room she’d ever been in. Grimmauld Place was dark and gloomy filled with all sorts of dark magic. The common room however had an airy feel to it.

Celeste’s favorite things about the it was the star painted ceiling that she found herself staring at from time to time from her second favorite thing about the room, the window seats. The window’s surrounding the common room all were accompanied by a cushiony seat that lay beneath it. Celeste’s favorite window seat pointed out towards the mountains. She often found herself curled up with a book from their personal Ravenclaw library or some form of homework that was assigned to them that day.

The common room was never loud and rowdy. It held many places for groups of friends to gather around and study or even just talk. They were never too loud other than the occasional burst of laughter, it was comfortable, and Celeste felt like she somehow belonged.

The room she belonged in maybe, but she could still not figure out why the Sorting Hat decided to place her in the Ravenclaw House. She hoped that by some standard she was secretly a genius and the Sorting Hat recognized that and acted on it, but that wasn’t the case. She was averagely smart if anything and the only thing she excelled in was practical magic.

Val on the other hand was very clearly a Ravenclaw. She had the creativity, intelligence and wit of a perfect Ravenclaw. Celeste was jealous that she somehow fit right into the perfect house. Though she wasn’t completely convinced she was fit for Slytherin, she still knew it was where she belonged since she didn’t belong anywhere else.

Some days she even thought about seeking out the Sorting Hat and asking it what it meant that she would prove herself in this house. So far proving herself was studying as hard as possible and completing homework on time. She wasn’t sure this is what the Sorting Hat meant by proving herself.

Except she didn’t only have the Sorting Hat to prove. Ever since her parents found out she wasn’t a Slytherin, they practically demanded an explanation as to how she was a Ravenclaw. Celeste knew deep down that they needed an explanation to believe that the only reason she wasn’t in Slytherin wasn’t because she didn’t belong there, but she belonged somewhere else more. Since it was Ravenclaw, they were convinced she was some sort of genius witch. It seemed to be the only explanation for them that meant they hadn’t lost control of their daughter even if she didn’t follow the Black family tradition.

The letters from Walburga voicing her thoughts on the matter made her feel belittled since she knew herself that wasn’t the reason behind her sorting. She sent them more often than Celeste would have wanted, and she wondered if it was a way for her mother to feel in control of her again.

The one letter from Orion is what really scared Celeste. Her father wasn’t involved all that much in their raising. Instead, he left it to Walburga while he went off and ‘made the Wizarding world better’ as he always said. When he did step in to say something, it was often for a grave reason and most of the time it had to do with Sirius.

When the letter floated onto her lap one morning in the middle of September, Celeste nearly choked on her tea. Val gave her a strange look asking what was wrong, but Celeste didn’t have words. She was still keeping secrets from Val about her situation at home and she certainly couldn’t explain that a letter from her father was worse news than a Howler from her mother.

Celeste had half a mind to just throw the letter away and forget about the fact it even was written in the first place. Her suspicions ended up getting the best of her and she excused herself from the breakfast table to find a private spot to open it. Celeste wandered having plenty of time before their first class. When she was content enough with the seclusion of her chosen spot, she carefully broke the wax seal of the letter and opened it with caution.

_Celestial,_

_Not even two weeks away and you’ve already messed up. While this was expected from Sirius, it was not expected from you. I have no words on how I feel on this situation other than I am gravely disappointed in you. When I was told I had a daughter, I made plans for you. You’ve already gone and messed half of them up and now I’m stuck covering your tracks and fixing your mistakes._

_Your mother is convinced the only reason you’ve been placed in that house is because you are intelligent beyond compare and it simply triumphs your Slytherin qualities. I, however, know better. You are no more intelligent than any other witch, Mudbloods included. There is nothing special about you, nothing separating you from the rest of us. You are no better than the rest of the Black family, do you understand?_

_Unfortunately, now you have to act as such. If you want to play genius witch and get yourself sorted into Ravenclaw, you better be the top of your class in every class, you better be setting records no student in that school could wish to beat and you most certainly better be the most brilliant witch of your entire generation. While I know the truth, you must now convince others that your mother is indeed correct, and your intelligence overcomes your Slytherin roots._

_If you cannot abide by these standards, you will have a fate most unimaginable. If you think Sirius’ treatment was bad, I cannot explain how much worse yours will be. People are watching you Celestial, do not let me down more than you already have._

_Orion Black_

By the time she’d finished reading her father’s letter, or threat, Celeste’s entire body was shaking. She could feel silent tears streaming down her face and sticking to her cheeks the entire way down. All of Walburga’s letters combined didn’t make her feel as scared and useless as Orion’s one letter did. That was simply the effect of Orion Black.

Celeste let herself sob quietly. She knew if she tried to bottle it in, she would only break at a different point in her day, probably at a more inconvenient time. She already found three of her classes particularly challenging and now her father had just informed her she needed to be top in each of those classes plus more.

She wasn’t sure how she was going to do it. Being top of every class seemed near impossible and that was for an intelligent witch. Celeste however was not smarter than any of her classmates and Orion had clearly pointed that out. Somehow, he knew that she wasn’t special and now he was practically forcing her to become it. Special that is.

Orion wanted Celeste to prove him wrong and it probably had to do with whatever plans he had for her. Celeste couldn’t recall any mention of plans for her future that would be influenced on something as simple as her placement of house. She always knew what a pure-blood witch was destined for, but she couldn’t see how this would change anything.

Still, the expectations were set, and the pressure was on. Her father had given her a proper threat and if she didn’t end up anything but perfect, she didn’t even want to think about what would happen to her. He said it would be a fate worse than Sirius’, and while Sirius didn’t show the consequences of how he was treated, Celeste still knew she couldn’t handle it. Not like he did.

Her only choice now was to pull of this miracle.

Sirius always explained how fun Hogwarts was. He rarely mentioned to the school aspect, but more the friends and their activities part of it. Her future wasn’t going to be the same as his. She was going to have to throw herself deep into her studies to pull this off. Not only that, but she surely wouldn’t have time to do all the fun stuff Sirius always mentioned.

Celeste was deep in her thoughts when Remus walked by. She didn’t even notice his scuffed footsteps nor to she notice how he did a quick double take when he realized there was someone else in the empty hallway with him. In fact, she only noticed him when he stepped in front of where she was seated against the wall and called out her name.

“Celeste, what are you doing?” Remus said bending down so he was eye level with her.

Celeste looked up into eyes that reminded her of honey and quickly tried to push away any thought about her father’s letter. “Hello Remus,” she found herself whispering. She wondered if she spoke any louder, if her voice would crack from all the crying.

“What are you doing Celeste?” Remus reiterated his initial question glancing quickly down to where her hands were firmly gripping Orion’s letter.

Celeste forced a small laugh and tried to lie through her teeth. “Just enjoying some privacy before classes begin for the day.”

Remus eyed her carefully and Celeste knew that he didn’t believe her lie. Even though she swore he didn’t buy her excuse, Remus didn’t say anything. Instead, he stood back up and offered Celeste a hand pulling her up as well. “What class do you have first?”

“Defence,” she said straightening out her robes and pocketing her letter quickly.

“I was heading that way if you wanted me to walk you,” Remus offered casually. “Unless you wanted to be alone,” he added.

“Thank you, that’d be lovely.”

Celeste threw her bag over her shoulder and followed Remus down the hall. She was sure he knew exactly where he was going which was perfect because Celeste wasn’t exactly sure where she had wandered off to and how she was planning on getting to her first class.

They walked in silence which Celeste appreciated. It wasn’t awkward like they each felt like they should say something, instead it was peaceful. Celeste was still lost in thought, mentally preparing for what was going to be a tough year and it seemed Remus was also lost in his own thoughts. Celeste wondered briefly what they were about, but unless she asked, she wasn’t going to find out.

Remus led her down a staircase she wasn’t aware existed and then trough a hall Celeste had never seen before. “This castle is huge,” Celeste whispered to herself and Remus laughed.

“I still get lost sometimes,” Remus admitted. Celeste looked up at him in disbelief earning a small chuckle. “Believe it or not, it takes more than a year to learn all the paths of the castle.”

“We’re not lost now though, right?” Her voice was nervous as she asked earning another laugh from Remus.

“No, don’t worry Celeste I’ve got you.”

Celeste smiled and remembered how Sirius would always say those words to her when he was comforting her. The last time he’d said them were after Walburga’s Howler. It was nice to hear them after Orion’s letter as well, even if it wasn’t from her brother, but her brother’s friend. Even if it was not in the right context either.

They turned another corner and Celeste found herself standing with a group of first years waiting for their professor to let them into the room. Remus said a quick goodbye to Celeste and let her be with her classmates.

Val sought her out immediately once she arrived. “Who was that?” she whispered watching Remus’ retreating figure.

“Remus, he’s one of Sirius’ friends,” Celeste replied also watching Remus walk away.

Val looked at her with a small grin and her eyebrows raised high. “What were you doing with him?”

Celeste rolled her eyes knowing where Val was going with this. “He found me reading a letter and offered to walk me to class, that’s all. He probably felt bad for me. I’m sure Sirius has told all his friends to look out for me like he would.”

Val seemed to agree and didn’t bring it up again all throughout class. Once they were done, Celeste followed Val out of the room only to be greeted with her older brother on the other side.

Sirius was leaning against the wall watching as the first year Defence Against the Dark Arts class emptied the room. Celeste watched as he scanned every face probably look for her own. She sighed loudly when he caught her eye and pushed off the wall to meet her halfway. Val offered a small smile in support and then left the siblings alone for privacy.

“What happened this morning?” Sirius said not even bothering with a greeting. “Remus said he found you crying and holding a letter alone.”

Celeste closed her eyes and sighed again. Of course, he told Sirius how he found Celeste. She knew she hadn’t fooled Remus, but she didn’t expect him to rat her out. “It was nothing,” she tried to convince him, but Sirius wasn’t buying it.

Celeste knew she couldn’t tell him about their father’s letter simply because he wouldn’t act rationally. Sirius had an extremely short temper in general, but when it came to their parents, that temper was even shorter. Celeste wasn’t certain how exactly Sirius would react, but she did know for certain it wouldn’t be good and she could save them both by withholding the information about the letter.

So, she lied. “Mum had some pleasant things to say as usual. I felt a bit down about being called a disappointment for the third day in a row, so I cried, okay?”

Sirius immediately dropped his tough big brother act and wrapped his arms around her. “I’m sorry Celeste,” he whispered against her temple. “You shouldn’t have to deal with that.”

Celeste pulled away and tried to offer him a smile. “It’s okay, nothing you don’t deal with.”

Sirius pulled back and shrugged. Celeste knew he hated talking about how their parents treated him, at least now he was opening up to her more about it given the fact she was also being treated similarly.

“C’mon, I’ll walk you to your next class…what is your next class?”

Celeste smiled. “It’s Potions with the Slytherins.”

That earned an eyeroll from Sirius, but he still turned on his heel walking in the direction of the dungeons. They walked in silence for a few moments before a thought crossed Celeste’s brain and she voiced it.

“Did you ask your friends to look out for me?”

Sirius looked at her out of the side of his eye and hesitantly answered, “why?”

“Well, the thing with Remus this morning. That and the fact he probably told you immediately what happened without you asking. Are they spying on me?”

Sirius forced a laugh. “No not spying. They are looking out for you though I guess.” He paused and hesitated before adding the next part. “They know how our parents treated me after getting sorted into Gryffindor and I told them the same thing is happening to you.”

“So?”

“So, I may have told them you weren’t handling it as well as I did.”

Celeste sighed. “You told your friends I’m fragile?”

“No! Not in those words. I more implied you were maybe a little more-” he paused trying to pick the right word, “-emotional than usual.”

Celeste turned her head sharply and saw her brother flinch at her angry face. “You told your friends I’m a crybaby!?”

Sirius threw his hands up in defense. “Look, it doesn’t matter what they think okay?”

Celeste went to say more, but at that moment Regulus turned the corner and came face to face with his older siblings.

“Having a family meeting, are we?” he spit out walking towards the pair.

Sirius rolled her eyes and Celeste braced herself for a fight. “Sorry Reggie, I was just comforting Celeste after mother made her cry. I would have invited you if I thought you cared.”

“I do care!” Regulus shouted at Sirius. Then he turned to Celeste and dropped his voice into a whisper and repeated his words. “I do care.”

“I know Reg, let’s get to Potions, yeah?”

Celeste grabbed Regulus’ bag and tugged him away from Sirius. He was still glaring at him until they turned the last corner and were in front of the Potion’s classroom. Regulus stood next to Celeste even as a couple of Slytherin’s looked at him. He didn’t seem to notice, he was still fuming and looked like he was lost in thought.

Professor Slughorn opened the classroom door letting the students in. They filed in and then took their spots at the tables set up. Regulus took his seat next to Celeste and started to set up his station.

The class ended up being a theoretical class and they didn’t have to brew a potion (thankfully), so Celeste just quietly sat at the table she was sharing with Regulus, Val and another first year Slytherin boy.

Celeste had introduced Regulus to Val in their first Potions class after they all picked a table together. He didn’t have much to say to her and Celeste had to explain later that her brother was a closed off person, especially to people he didn’t know. It didn’t bother Val too much which Celeste was grateful for. As much as she wanted Regulus and Val to get along and be friends, she was content with having them just acting civilly with one another.

When Professor Slughorn dismissed them, Celeste packed away her book and was about to follow Val out when an arm grabbed hers stopping her. When she turned around, Regulus was looking at her with a sort of desperate look on his face.

“You can come to me too Cely. I may not understand like Sirius does, but I’m still your brother and I do care, okay?”

“Okay,” she replied smiling softly. It was enough of a response for Regulus who nodded and then followed the rest of the crowd out.

Val, who had waited back for her smirked with her eyebrows raised. “Your brothers are quite-”

“Overprotective?”

“Overbearing,” Val finished.

Celeste laughed. “That’s the same thing!”

“Almost.” Val laughed too and looped her arm into Celeste’s. “While I’m sure your brothers have your support system covered for whatever it is that’s always bothering you, you should know I am also here for you. When you’re ready to talk about it.”

“Thank you, Val,” Celeste whispered. “I’m here for you too, if you ever need it.”

Celeste felt a weight off her shoulder she didn’t even know was there. She had been trying to hide her feelings the past week from Val afraid that she’d ask questions. Now she knew she could still feel the emotions more openly without having to scare Val away with her intense familial problems.

She knew one day she’d have to open up, but she could at least wait until she was ready or she could explain it better. When the time came, she’d have to ask Sirius how he told his friends. She was sure it wasn’t an easy task, but it would also be nice to have a person on the outside to confide in.

While she loved her brothers and trusted them, Sirius and Regulus were sometimes part of the problem. She could never admit that to either one of them though. At least one day she could admit it to Val. That was of course, if Val still wanted to be her friend after she heard what about what kind of family she came from.

Celeste tried to push those thoughts away while she followed Val to their flying lessons.

Ravenclaw were taking their flying lessons with Hufflepuff so the two houses met on the Quidditch field where Madam Hooch was waiting for them.

“Have you ever flown before?” Val whispered into her ear as they approached the forming group.

“A little,” Celeste admitted. While she didn’t love Quidditch like her brothers did, she often got roped into playing with them. When they were younger, they sometimes even played with their cousins. Though Bellatrix, Andromeda and Narcissa were older, they would go easy on the younger cousins, happy to just be playing a game. “Have you?” Celeste asked trying to get rid of her nostalgic thoughts.

“Yeah! My sister is on the Gryffindor Quidditch team and she taught me so I can play with her. I think I might try out for the Ravenclaw team when we’re old enough. Will you?”

“Absolutely not.” Sirius never failed to remind her how awful a Keeper she was when she played with them. Regulus always agreed. It was one of the limited things they actually agreed on.

“Well, you’ll just have to cheer me on then!”

Celeste agreed with a bright smile and then turned her attention to Madam Hooch who was explaining the basics about flying. She found herself zoning out since she knew all this information and her mind wandered back to the letter she received from her father this morning.

She needed a game plan, like in Quidditch. She needed a study schedule and goals and maybe even a tutor if it came down to it. She also needed a way to hide it because there was no way she could find herself flat out admitting to either Regulus or Sirius that their father had threatened her.

She knew she could probably get top of her class in Transfiguration and Astronomy without too much work. Classes like Potions and History of Magic she would have to work the hardest on, so she needed to make she sure she didn’t neglect those. Defense wouldn’t be too hard; she did come from a pretty dark family after all. Herbology would need more work, and Charms wouldn’t be too bad…

“Pst, Celeste,” Val said nudging her out of her thoughts. “You’re scaring that Hufflepuff boy by staring at him.”

Celeste blinked a few times letting her glazed over vision clear to find that she was indeed staring directly at a small Hufflepuff boy. He was looking right back with a scared look on his face. She tried to shoot him a small smile to make up for it. She was aware how her normal look could look menacing to others; she blamed the sharp family features all the Blacks had.

“Sorry, lost in thought,” Celeste whispered to Val explaining herself.

This time Celeste tried to listen to Madam Hooch’s explanation and not think of the taunting task she would have to deal with later, living up to her father’s expectations.

When Madam Hooch finished with her instructions, she made the students each grab a broom and stand in two rows facing each other. Celeste stood with the broomstick between her legs next to Val and in front of the same Hufflepuff she scared earlier. The one she had at home was a newer model than the ones they kept at school and even hers was one of Sirius’ old brooms.

When Madam Hooch blew her whistle, the group of first years pushed up on their brooms and hovered for a few seconds before dropping down again. Celeste and Val hovered the longest trying to show off to their instructor that they knew what they were doing.

The next task was to push off, do a small slow lap around the pitch and then slowly land back down where they started. Again, the whistle blew, and the group did their lap all at different paces. Celeste knew she could go faster if she wanted and she had the feeling that Val could too by the way she bounced on her feet when she landed as if that lap hadn’t quite satisfied her flying needs.

This time they were supposed to do their lap slightly faster and Val leaned in. “What do you say we make this interesting.” Celeste raised her eyebrows at her friend. “Let’s make it a race, yeah? Two laps around the pitch as fast as we can.”

Celeste looked at her friend and hesitated. She looked at where Madam Hooch was adjusting a classmate’s grip on his broom then looked back at Val who had a mischievous glint in her eye. If her eyes hadn’t been brown, she would have sworn she was looking into Sirius’ mischievous eyes.

“Won’t we get in trouble?”

Val smirked. “Not if we impress her enough.”

Celeste liked the thought of impressing her instructor. Technically flying was one of their classes and she was supposed to be the best in all her classes...

“Deal.”

Madam Hooch took her position again. When she brought her whistle to her mouth, both Val and Celeste leaned forward on their brooms anticipating the go sound. Once they heard the sound of the whistle, both Celeste and Val pushed off with all their strength and darted into the air.

Val was slightly ahead of Celeste in the beginning, but then she took the turn too wide and Celeste’s precise movements brought her in the lead. When they started their second lap, they had to dart through the crowd of students just trying to do their one lap at a reasonable pace while Celeste and Val flew through the crowd trying to one up the other.

It was neck and neck. Celeste could hear the sound of Val flying beside her mere centimeters away from her. In the last turn, Celeste still had the lead, but Val caught up just as they were reaching their finish line.

Both girls shoot towards the ground at a quick speed before Val leant forward just a touch more and landed with a heavy thud a second before Celeste hit the ground right beside her. Their landings were rough, but they had successfully done two laps and landed in the time it took their peers to do one.

“Miss Black, Miss Torres,” Madam Hooch called out making her way towards where they were bent over breathing hard. “I thought I said one lap at a moderate pace!”

“Sorry Madam Hooch,” Val said between deep breaths. “I thought we’d show you what we can really do.” Celeste tried to stand up straight like she was supposed to when Walburga disciplined them. She looked down at the ground not able to meet Madam Hooch in the eye.

“Well, consider me shown,” Madam Hooch said with a small smile. “That was quite impressive girls, but next time follow the instructions.”

Celeste looked up and exchanged her bashful face for one of surprise. She fully expected with Madam Hooch’s tone of voice for her to discipline them, not praise them for their work. Celeste found herself matching Val’s beaming face at the compliment.

“Nice race,” she complimented.

Celeste laughed, “why because you won?” Val shrugged and winked.

The rest of the lesson, Celeste and Val followed the instructions not wanting to push their luck. By dinner, the other first years had heard about their little race during their flying lesson. The other Ravenclaw girls in their dorm, Eve, Delilah and Sophie, all complimented their flying skills at lunch and the five girls ate lunch together. Celeste found herself enjoying the other girls’ company.

At dinner, Sirius approached them at the Ravenclaw table with a bright smile on his face. “Did I hear correctly? Did my sister race another student during her flying lessons today?”

“And lost, to me,” Val added before taking another bite of her chicken.

“Yes well, little Celeste isn’t perfect, but I am proud that you even dared to. I think you’re becoming more like your big brother every day.”

Celeste forced a smile. “It was Val who convinced me.”

Sirius then turned to Val. “I like you.”

While Sirius and Val were talking Celeste thought about Sirius’ comment again.

_‘Little Celeste isn’t perfect…you’re becoming more like your big brother every day.’_

If only Sirius knew that she _did_ have to be perfect and becoming like him wasn’t a good thing. He was right though. Between being sorted into a different house and racing on broomsticks, she was becoming more like him.

And it had to stop immediately.


End file.
